Congress seeks answers on logistics park

11 Jan 201906:41am IST

11 Jan 201906:41am IST

Report byTeam Herald

Demands white paper with all details of cost, site, area, power, water requirements

PANJIM: Accusing the Central and State government for failing to take the people of Goa into confidence over the proposed Multi-Modal Logistics Park in Panjim, the Congress has demanded a white paper on the project.

The Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) had in-principle approved the development of 35 Multi-Modal Logistics Parks including one in Goa (Panjim) as a part of the National Corridor Efficiency Enhancement Component (NCEEP) of Bharatmala Pariyojana to improve the efficiency of the road freight movement in the country. Herald was the first to report about the proposed project.

Addressing media persons, Congress chief spokesperson Sunil Kawthankar said that neither the Centre nor the State took the people of Goa into confidence before proposing such a mega project. “It is a project which will be imposed on us in this dictatorship BJP governance. We demand a white paper on the project,” he said.

Kawathankar said the white paper should spell out details like total cost of the project, the site identified in Panjim, total area requirement, power, water and other basic facilities required. “A logistics park requires huge container terminals and rail connectivity. Both do not exist in Panjim. In a bid to create an alternative, more pressure will be put on road infrastructure,” he said.

The Congress leader also sought to know the total employment generation for locals through the project. “Will it create employment for locals or is it yet another project to tackle the unemployment problems faced by neighbouring States,” he asked.

Kawthankar demanded a detailed white paper on the land given to the Central government under various developmental or destructive projects.